Acetylcholinesterase distribution in chick spinal cord cultures

Summary Explants of 10–12 day chick embryo spinal cord were cultured by coverslip-roller tube method for 3–80 days. The cellular and subcellular localization of acetylcholinesterase activity in cultured neurons was studied by the thiocholine techniques of Karnovsky and Roots and Lewis and Shute.At the light microscopic level, acetylcholinesterase was demonstrated in the neurons of both ventral and dorsal horn regions. Occasionally neurons migrated in the outgrowth zone exhibited strong intracellular activity.At the electron microscopic level, acetylcholinesterase activity was found in the nuclear envelope, granular endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus of the neurons. No enzyme reaction was detected in the glial cell cytoplasm.     

Strategically Functionalized Adenosines: Agonists for Adenosine Receptors

Abstract

The syntheses of three classes of adenosine analogues involving cyclosubstitution at the 6-position and functionalization at the 2-position are reported. The target molecules synthesized are stable with respect to hydrolytic deamination by mammalian adenosine deaminase, and, because of major structural changes at the 2- and 6-positions, these compounds are expected to be poor phosphorylation substrates for the kinases. Adenosine receptor binding data reveal that several of the compounds synthesized show excellent A₁ receptor affinity and A₂/A₁ selectivity.     

Microbial Communities in the Upper Respiratory Tract of Patients with Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Respiratory infections are well-known triggers of chronic respiratory diseases. Recently, culture-independent tools have indicated that lower airway microbiota may contribute to pathophysiologic processes associated with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the relationship between upper airway microbiota and chronic respiratory diseases remains unclear. This study was undertaken to define differences of microbiota in the oropharynx of asthma and COPD patients relative to those in healthy individuals. To account for the qualitative and quantitative diversity of the 16S rRNA gene in the oropharynx, the microbiomes of 18 asthma patients, 17 COPD patients, and 12 normal individuals were assessed using a high-throughput next-generation sequencing analysis. In the 259,572 total sequence reads, α and β diversity measurements and a generalized linear model revealed that the oropharynx microbiota are diverse, but no significant differences were observed between asthma and COPD patients. Pseudomonas spp. of Proteobacteria and Lactobacillus spp. of Firmicutes were highly abundant in asthma and COPD. By contrast, Streptococcus, Veillonella, Prevotella, and Neisseria of Bacteroidetes dominated in the healthy oropharynx. These findings are consistent with previous studies conducted in the lower airways and suggest that oropharyngeal airway microbiota are important for understanding the relationships between the various parts of the respiratory tract with regard to bacterial colonization and comprehensive assessment of asthma and COPD.     

Structure and Optical Bandgap Relationship of π-Conjugated Systems

In bulk heterojunction photovoltaic systems both the open-circuit voltage as well as the short-circuit current, and hence the power conversion efficiency, are dependent on the optical bandgap of the electron-donor material. While first-principles methods are computationally intensive, simpler model Hamiltonian approaches typically suffer from one or more flaws: inability to optimize the geometries for their own input; absence of general, transferable parameters; and poor performance for non-planar systems. We introduce a set of new and revised parameters for the adapted Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (aSSH) Hamiltonian, which is capable of optimizing geometries, along with rules for applying them to any -conjugated system containing C, N, O, or S, including non-planar systems. The predicted optical bandgaps show excellent agreement to UV-vis spectroscopy data points from literature, with a coefficient of determination , a mean error of −0.05 eV, and a mean absolute deviation of 0.16 eV. We use the model to gain insights from PEDOT, fused thiophene polymers, poly-isothianaphthene, copolymers, and pentacene as sources of design rules in the search for low bandgap materials. Using the model as an in-silico design tool, a copolymer of benzodithiophenes along with a small-molecule derivative of pentacene are proposed as optimal donor materials for organic photovoltaics.     

Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester Loaded in Microemulsions: Enhanced In Vitro Activity against Colon and Breast Cancer Cells and Possible Cellular Mechanisms

Food Biophysics - Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) has high cytotoxicity against various cancer cells but has low water solubility and poor bioavailability. The objective of this work was to...     

Microdischarge‐Based Direct Current Triboelectric Nanogenerator via Accumulation of Triboelectric Charge in Atmospheric Condition

Direct conversion of mechanical energy into direct current (DC) by triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) is one of the desired features in terms of energy conversion efficiency. Although promising applications have been reported using the triboelectric effect, effective DC generating TENGs must be developed for practical purposes. Here, it is reported that continuous DC generation within a TENG itself, without any circuitry, can be achieved by triggering air breakdown via triboelectrification. It is demonstrated that DC generation occurs in combination with i) charge accumulation to generate air breakdown, ii) incident discharge (microdischarge), and iii) conveyance of charges to make the device sustainable. 10.5 mA m^?2 of output current and 10.6 W m^?2 of output power at 33 MΩ load resistance are achieved. Compared to the best DC generating TENGs ever reported, the TENG in this present study generates about 20 times larger root‐mean square current density.     

Ecofriendly Chemical Activation of Overlithiated Layered Oxides by DNA‐Wrapped Carbon Nanotubes

Despite their exceptionally high capacity, overlithiated layered oxides (OLO) have not yet been practically used in lithium‐ion battery cathodes due to necessary toxic/complex chemical activation processes and unsatisfactory electrochemical reliability. Here, a new class of ecofriendly chemical activation strategy based on amphiphilic deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA)‐wrapped multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) is demonstrated. Hydrophobic aromatic bases of DNA have a good affinity for MWCNT via noncovalent π–π stacking interactions, resulting in core (MWCNT)‐shell (DNA) hybrids (i.e., DNA@MWCNT) featuring the predominant presence of hydrophilic phosphate groups (coupled with Na⁺) in their outmost layers. Such spatially rearranged Na⁺–phosphate complexes of the DNA@MWCNT efficiently extract Li⁺ from monoclinic Li₂MnO₃ of the OLO through cation exchange reaction of Na⁺–Li⁺, thereby forming Li₄Mn₅O₁₂‐type spinel nanolayers on the OLO surface. The newly formed spinel nanolayers play a crucial role in improving the structural stability of the OLO and suppressing interfacial side reactions with liquid electrolytes, eventually providing significant improvements in the charge/discharge kinetics, cyclability, and thermal stability. This beneficial effect of the DNA@MWCNT‐mediated chemical activation is comprehensively elucidated by an in‐depth structural/electrochemical characterization.     

Industrial attributes of β-glucanase produced by Bacillus sp. CSB55 and its potential application as bio-industrial catalyst

Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering - The β-glucanase produced from Bacillus sp. CSB55 not only depicts the potent industrial characteristics but also relates as bio-industrial catalyst...     

Effectiveness of enhanced cognitive behavior therapy for bulimia nervosa in Japan: a randomized controlled trial protocol

Although fatigue is a common and distressing symptom in cancer survivors, the mechanism of fatigue is not fully understood. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relation between the fatigue and mindfulness of breast cancer survivors using anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance as mediators. Path analysis was performed to examine direct and indirect associations between mindfulness and fatigue. Participants were breast cancer survivors who visited a breast surgery department at a university hospital in Japan for hormonal therapy or regular check-ups after treatment. The questionnaire measured cancer-related-fatigue, mindfulness, anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance. Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected from medical records. Two-hundred and seventy-nine breast cancer survivors were registered, of which 259 answered the questionnaire. Ten respondents with incomplete questionnaire data were excluded, resulting in 249 participants for the analyses. Our final model fit the data well (goodness of fit index = .993; adjusted goodness of fit index = .966; comparative fit index = .999; root mean square error of approximation = .016). Mindfulness, anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance were related to fatigue, and mindfulness had the most influence on fatigue (β = − .52). Mindfulness affected fatigue not only directly but also indirectly through anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance. The study model helps to explain the process by which mindfulness affects fatigue. Our results suggest that mindfulness has both direct and indirect effects on the fatigue of breast cancer survivors and that mindfulness can be used to more effectively reduce their fatigue. It also suggests that health care professionals should be aware of factors such as anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance in their care for fatigue of breast cancer survivors. This study was registered in the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN number. 000027720) on June 12, 2017.     

Structural and sequence comparisons of bacterial enoyl-CoA isomerase and enoyl-CoA hydratase

Crystal structures of enoyl-coenzyme A (CoA) isomerase from Bosea sp. PAMC 26642 (BoECI) and enoyl-CoA hydratase from Hymenobacter sp. PAMC 26628 (HyECH) were determined at 2.35 and 2.70 Å resolution, respectively. BoECI and HyECH are members of the crotonase superfamily and are enzymes known to be involved in fatty acid degradation. Structurally, these enzymes are highly similar except for the orientation of their C-terminal helix domain. Analytical ultracentrifugation was performed to determine the oligomerization states of BoECI and HyECH revealing they exist as trimers in solution. However, their putative ligand-binding sites and active site residue compositions are dissimilar. Comparative sequence and structural analysis revealed that the active site of BoECI had one glutamate residue (Glu135), this site is occupied by an aspartate in some ECIs, and the active sites of HyECH had two highly conserved glutamate residues (Glu118 and Glu138). Moreover, HyECH possesses a salt bridge interaction between Glu98 and Arg152 near the active site. This interaction may allow the catalytic Glu118 residue to have a specific conformation for the ECH enzyme reaction. This salt bridge interaction is highly conserved in known bacterial ECH structures and ECI enzymes do not have this type of interaction. Collectively, our comparative sequential and structural studies have provided useful information to distinguish and classify two similar bacterial crotonase superfamily enzymes.